Morgan Rielly
| birth_place = Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 1 | weight_lb = 217 | position = Defence | shoots = Left | league = NHL | team = Toronto Maple Leafs | ntl_team = CAN | draft = 5th overall | draft_year = 2012 | draft_team = Toronto Maple Leafs | career_start = 2013 | career_end = }} Morgan Rielly (born Morgan Frederick Rielly on March 9, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for and an alternate captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Rielly was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the first round (5th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Playing Career Amateur Morgan was selected second overall by the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL) Bantam Draft in 2009. Before entering the WHL, he played midget hockey for the Notre Dame Hounds in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. In his final season with the Hounds, Morgan was the top-scoring defenseman in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, with 55 points in 43 games. His team captured Canada's national midget championship. He joined the Warriors for the 2010–11 WHL season, playing in 65 games and recording 28 points. Heading into the 2011–12 WHL season, Morgan was a highly ranked prospect for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He suffered a serious knee injury, a torn anterior cruciate ligament, causing him to miss most of the season. He returned for the tail end of the Warriors playoff run against the Edmonton Oil Kings. Despite the injury, Morgan still finished the season ranked fifth among North American skaters by the Central Scouting Bureau. He was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, fifth overall, and he signed a contract with the club shortly before the 2012–13 NHL lockout. Morgan spent the 2012–13 season with the Warriors, with a stint in January at the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp, but he eventually was returned to finish the season in the WHL. Professional Morgan made his professional debut at the end of the 2012–13 season with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL). At the start of the 2013–14 NHL season, he made the Maple Leafs roster out of training camp. On October 5, 2013, Morgan made his NHL debut on October 5, 2013, against the Ottawa Senators. On December 16, 2013, he scored his first NHL goal, against Stanley Cup winner Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins. On February 10, 2015, Morgan recorded his first multigoal game with two goals against Cam Talbot of the New York Rangers. Throughout the 2015–16 season, Rielly earned much praise from Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock, as well as other figures of management. In addition, he would see an increase in ice time, often appearing on the top pairing for the club. He also set career highs in multiple offensive categories such as goals, assists and points. On April 13, 2016, Morgan signed a six-year, $30 million contract, carrying an average value of $5 million a season. On November 11, 2016, he had his first career 4-point game, 1 goal and 3 assists during a 6-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Morgan spent most of the 2016–17 season with rookie Nikita Zaitsev on the Leafs' shutdown defence pairing and finished the season with 27 points in 76 games. He was nominated for the Bill Masterton Trophy at the end of the 2016–17 season. During the 2017–18 season, Morgan was injured in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on January 19, 2018, and was placed on injured reserve on January 22. He was back in the Leafs' lineup on February 3, 2018, after missing six games. Despite his injury, he and fellow defenceman Jake Gardiner became the first two Leafs defenceman to record at least 50 points in a season since Tomáš Kaberle and Bryan McCabe accomplished the feat in 2006–07. Morgan ended the regular season with a career-high 46 assists and 52 points, tying Gardiner for the team points leader amongst Leafs defencemen, and helped propel the Leafs to their second consecutive playoff showing. Despite pushing the Boston Bruins to seven games, the Leafs lost the series in the first round, as he finished the playoffs with five points. During the 2018–19 season, on October 9, 2018, Morgan recorded a career-high four assists in a 7–4 win over the Dallas Stars, bringing him to ten points in his first four games, tying him for the NHL lead in points alongside teammate Auston Matthews. The following game, on October 11, 2018, against the Detroit Red Wings, he passed Bobby Orr for most points by a defenceman in a team's first five games, with 12 points. By picking up an assist the next game, Morgan established the longest season-opening point streak by a defenceman in franchise history. On October 14, 2018, Morgan was named as one of the NHL's 3 Stars of the Week for the first time in his career. He had an NHL-leading six assists, along with an overtime goal against the Chicago Blackhawks, during a four-game Maple Leafs win streak. He was named as the NHL's second star of the week for his accomplishments. On December 20, 2018, during a 6–1 Leafs win over the Florida Panthers, Morgan recorded his second four assist game of the season, becoming the first NHL defenceman that year to reach the 40-point mark. On December 24, Morgan was again named as the 2nd star in the NHL's 3 Stars of the Week. He led the NHL with 3 goals, 6 assists, 9 goals and a +10 rating the previous week to propel the Maple Leafs to a perfect week and into second place in the overall League standings. On January 23, 2019, he became the first Maple Leafs defenseman to post consecutive 50-point seasons since Tomas Kaberle's 2005-2006 and 2007-2008 seasons. Morgan reached the 50-point mark while skating in his 49th personal game of 2018-19. Only three other Maple Leafs defensemen have reached the mark faster: Borje Salming (42 GP in 1976-77), Babe Pratt (44 GP in 1943-44, and Bryan McCabe (45 GP in 2005-06). On March 16, 2019, he scored his 20th goal of the season against the Ottawa Senators. With his 20th, Morgan became the first Leafs defenceman to score 20 goals in a season since Al Iafrate in 1989-1990. He ended the season with a career high 20 goals, 52 assists, and 72 points, the first 70+ point season by a Leafs defenceman since Börje Salming in 1980. Career Statistics Regular season and playoffs International International Play }} Canada Pacific}} Morgan represents Canada internationally. He started out in regional and age-group competitions. When he was representing Team Pacific at the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, he scored two goals in five games and helped his team capture a bronze medal. Later that year, he was part of Canada's gold medal winning squad at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. His first experience at an International Ice Hockey Federation sanctioned event was the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he recorded two goals and one assist in seven games. Canada finished fourth at the tournament. During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, he was selected to represent Canada at the 2013 IIHF World U20 Championships, again finishing in fourth place. In 2016, Morgan was named to Canada's roster for the 2016 IIHF World Championship, where he was named one of Canada's most valuable players. Canada would go on to win the tournament with a 2–0 victory over Finland in the final. Throughout the tournament, he recorded the most ice time of any player on Canada. For this accomplishment, he was named to the tournament All-Star team. For the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Morgan was placed on Team North America, a team of North American hockey players aged 23 or younger. In three games with Team North America, Rielly tallied two points (one goal and one assist). Team North America went 2–1–0 in the tournament, scoring ten goals and conceding eight, suffering elimination following Finland's loss to Russia. Accolades Personal Life Growing up, Morgan was a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. His parental family is from Hamilton, Ontario, and are also fans of the Maple Leafs. Morgan's father, Andy, is the owner of Rielly Lumber and his mother, Shirley is a cancer researcher and owns a medical company. He has an older brother, Connor. The family own a lab named Maggie. Until September 2015, Morgan and teammate Jake Gardiner were roommates. Despite parting ways, the two remained friends and he was a groomsman at Jake's wedding. Category:1994 births Category:Canadian ice hockey players Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players Category:Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen Category:NHL alternate captains Category:Toronto Marlies players